Mainichi Shimbun, Wednesday 15 December
1999. Tokyo imposed the punishments in protest at
Pyongyang's launching of a missile that flew over the
Japanese archipelago in August 1998. The decision to lift
the freeze on food aid to North Korea and normalization
talks laid the foundation for preliminary discussions
between Tokyo and Pyongyang aimed at establishing bilateral
diplomatic relations.

AFP, The Straits Times, 21 September
2000. Recognising North Korea as a state is an issue which
will be considered and decided in the process of Japan-North
Korea normalisation talks. Japanese and North Korean
officials ended an inconclusive 10th round of talks on
setting up diplomatic ties in Japan in late August.

Mainichi Shimbun, 25 August 2000. Japan and
North Korea in crucial talks on Thursday failed to bridge
the gaps over long-standing issue of damages for Japan's
colonization of the Korean Peninsula. However, the two sides
did agree to promote exchange programs of diplomats and
business people.

Mainichi Shimbun, 25 September 2000. Prime
Minister Yoshiro Mori and South Korean President Kim
Dae-jung held discussions in a casual atmosphere during
their summit meeting in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, which
reflects the recent improvement in relations between the two
countries.

BBC News, Thursday 12 July 2001. South Korea has suspended
military co-operation with Japan, raising the stakes in a
row over new Japanese history textbooks that have angered
both Seoul and Beijing. Japan's neighbours are
particularly upset by the new history books' failure to
mention the tens of thousands Asian women&D#8212;mostly
Korean—forced to work as sex slaves for the Japanese
military during World War II.